Southampton player claims end up in a transfer rumour mill mess

On Saturday we covered an article from Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo which put forward Oriol Romeu as a potential long term replacement for Sergio Busquets at Barcelona.

The idea was flattering to Romeu and a sign that when he’s fit over a long period his performances are of a very high level, as has been seen at Southampton. But the idea fell down on several factors, Busquets is 28 years of age and doesn’t need a successor, and Southampton’s Romeu is only three years longer.

A nice idea, but that’s all. It should have been a pat on the back for Romeu and that’s it.

However, more than one English newspaper picked it up. Without giving any credit to Mundo Deportivo it was reported by The Sun that Barcelona are set to ‘plot sensational swoop’ to sign Romeu.

In yet another example of how the rumour mill works, that’s now ended up back in the Catalan media. Sport say ‘as reported by several British media, including the tabloid ‘The Sun’ and ‘Express”, Barcelona want the Southampton midfielder.